Immokalee farmworkers march to protest mistreatment of migrants

On Tuesday morning, Immokalee farmworkers begin a five-day march to draw attention to the mistreatment of migrant farmworkers.

Many migrant farmworkers experience forced labor and sexual assault, so the Coalition of Immokalee Workers is marching to make those issues unignorable. 2023’s Build a New World March starts in Pahokee, on the southeast side of Lake Okeechobee.

Pahokee was chosen as the starting point because dozens of workers were held there against their will at a labor camp in Florida’s most recent forced labor prosecution. A contractor had hundreds of farmworkers living in poor conditions and being paid $40 per week under threats of violence and deportation.

In 2015, one worker made a daring escape in the trunk of a car. That’s how authorities learned about the horrible conditions and did something about it.

CIW’s 45-mile march will go from the small agricultural community of Pahokee all the way to the billionaire enclave of Palm Beach. More than 100 farmworkers and their consumer allies are lacing up their walking shoes to highlight the need to protect migrants’ human rights. They also celebrate a decade of historic human rights progress under the Fair Food Program.

“We’re celebrating that, while at the same time, we are fighting against the abusive conditions that came up in the last case of modern-day slavery,” said Geraldo Reyes Chavez with CIW.

The marchers say more work needs to be done. They want Publix, Wendy’s and others to join the Fair Food Program, a human rights initiative that aims to protect farmworkers on their suppliers’ farms.

“Let’s do something about that so that it is fair,” Chavez said.

Ann Sundberg came from Sarasota to march with her family.

“I feel like it’s an honor to walk,” Sundberg said. “Paying people a living wage and having them be able to work in dignity, it’s just a no-brainer, and it’s the greed of the corporations that’s just unconscionable.”

“Think about the human cost behind those profits, and remember that by doing business, implementing the Fair Food Program in the operations of supplying them, they can guarantee that these shameful conditions are not happening anymore,” Chavez said.

The march will end in Palm Beach on Saturday. If you want to help, you can join the march, donate, or send a message of solidarity to those marching for farmworker freedom.

Below is the full statement from Publix about Farmworker March.

“Thank you for reaching out. Farm work is hard work. There is no denying that. We appreciate the work achieved in order to get product off the land and on our customers’ tables. We value the relationships along the path from “farm to fork” and realize it takes a lot of people, each providing a great service. Publix remains the focus of a campaign by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) who seeks to pressure us to become involved in the employment relationship between Florida farmers who grow tomatoes and the farmworkers they employ to harvest their product. Since first approached by the CIW in 2009, we have consistently viewed this issue as a labor dispute, and our position remains the same today.“

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